It’s no secret that I have an affinity for collecting cookbooks. Hard as I might try to suppress the urge to buy more, my cookbook collection is growing and there’s no containing its sweet, spicy, and savory forces. While I love each and every book I own, sometimes an extra-special bond is formed.

When Debbie Adler reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in receiving a copy of her cookbook, Sweet Debbie’s Organic Treats: Allergy-Free & Vegan Recipes from the Famous Los Angeles Bakery, I happily welcomed the offer. Recipes for sweet treats that are vegan and allergy-friendly? Pretty please. Show me how to bake well this way because vegan + gluten-free baking attempts have yielded some of the most epic failures in my kitchen. Muffins that weigh approximately 1 pound… each. Sunken cakes. Sandy cookies. Gummy breads. There is no form of failure that vegan and gluten-free baking is incapable of producing.

Sweet Debbie’s Organic Treats has even the most sensitive sweet teeth covered. The book begins with a guide to special ingredients and unfolds into a collection of power muffins, brownies, cupcakes, and so much more, making it a must-have guide to baking with whole, plant-based foods. When I turned to Chapter 8 and found a treasure trove of baked donut hole recipes, I about fell off my chair. Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes? Umm, yes.

These donut holes are easy to make and offer the most wonderful spiced-pumpkin aroma as they bake in the oven. Sweet, spiced, and everything nice. To make them, you’ll simply whisk together the dry ingredients, stir in the wet, form the mixture into balls, and bake them in the oven. They are delicious as is, but I opted to drizzle half the batch with a glaze of coconut butter, cocoa butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon to add an extra layer of decadence.

The beauty of these donuts is that you would never know they were made of unprocessed, allergy-friendly ingredients unless you saw the recipe. They have all of the characteristics we so admire in regular donuts but none of the post-donut sluggishness.

These donut holes are easy to make and offer the most wonderful spiced-pumpkin aroma as they bake in the oven. Sweet, spiced, and everything nice. To make them, you'll simply whisk together the dry ingredients, stir in the wet, form the mixture into balls, and bake them in the oven. They are delicious as is, but I opted to drizzle half the batch with a glaze of coconut butter, cocoa butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon to add an extra layer of decadence. The beauty of these donuts is that you would never know they were made of unprocessed, allergy-friendly ingredients unless you saw the recipe. They have all of the characteristics we so admire in regular donuts but none of the post-donut sluggishness.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Donut

Prep Time15minutes

Cook Time12minutes

Total Time27minutes

Servings18-20

Calories50kcal

AuthorAshley

Ingredients

15x10-inch sheet of parchment paper

1 1/2cupsall-purpose gluten-free flour

1/4cuplight buckwheat flour

2teaspoonspumpkin pie spice

1/4teaspoonsodium-free baking powder

1/4teaspoonguar gum*

1/4teaspoonfine grain sea salt

1/4cupcoconut nectar

1tablespooncoconut oil

3tablespoonsunsweetened plain rice milk**

1/4teaspoonstevia powder

5tablespoonscanned pumpkin puree

1/4cupground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F. Line a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper.

Whisk together the two flours, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, guar gum*, and sea salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle.

Microwave the coconut nectar and coconut oil in a 2-cup measuring cup for 20 seconds. Add the rice milk** and stevia and stir to combine. Pour into the flour mixture. Add the pumpkin puree and stir to combine.

Take about 1/2 tablespoon of the dough and shape it into a ball. Place the ball on the prepared pan. Repeat until you have used up all the dough.

Pour the cinnamon into a small bowl. Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon and place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared pan.

Bake the donut holes for 11 to 12 minutes, or until they are golden orange and bounce back slightly to the touch. Rotate the pan from front to back halfway through baking.

Transfer the pan from the oven to a wire rack and let sit for 10 minutes before removing the donut holes to cool completely.

Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.

First off, I can’t say enough how much I love your blog! All of your recipes are so beautiful, healthy, and vibrant and your photography is incredible. Secondly, I CANT WAIT TO MAKE THESE. Seriously, these are now at the top of my “to make” list!! Been looking for a gluten free recipe for something doughnut-y for a while now.

Hi, Caroline! Thank you for all of your sweet, supportive words about the blog. Reading kind words like yours is the absolute best part about blogging.

I’m so glad you’re going to give these donut holes a try. Seriously, everything about them is amazing; the texture, flavor, and sweetness are all spot-on. I need to go back through this cookbook and try out some of her other recipes too — she has one for blueberry streusel donut holes that I’ve been drooling over for a while. I hope you enjoy the recipe, and thanks again!